


Curtain Closes

by Nevanna



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2014-02-22
Packaged: 2018-01-13 08:23:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1219309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nevanna/pseuds/Nevanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Cuba, Charles prepares for a visit from Moira, and another connection that he knows he must break.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curtain Closes

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on 11/23/13, in response to the "disconnect" challenge on the LiveJournal community **comicdrabbles**.

Charles wheels himself out onto the lawn to wait for Moira’s arrival. He imagines the grounds of his house – his school – crowded with students, playing or studying or flirting or arguing, using their powers without fear of discovery, for as long as he can keep them safe.

He has had to say far too many goodbyes already: to Angel, to Darwin, to Erik, to Raven, to the hope that he will ever walk or dance again. The connection that he is about to break should be the easiest, comparatively speaking, for everybody involved.

If there were another way, he would pursue it. Moira McTaggert is, has been, and _would_ have been a strong and valuable ally. She is brilliant, brave, passionate, and has proven that not all of humanity will fear mutants without trying to understand them. He would have been proud and happy to work with her for years to come.

And yet, he also knows that somewhere along the line, her superiors at the CIA would do everything in their power to uncover the truth about the school. They would find the information that they needed, sooner or later, even if they had to torture her in order to obtain it, and that would be the beginning of the end.

He knew, almost from day that they met, that this would be the wiser and safer choice. He has the option of telling her what he needs to do, and why it’s necessary. Doesn’t she deserve an explanation? She cares about what he is trying to accomplish, and she cares about him, too, in ways that she would never articulate aloud, even if she didn’t know what he and Erik were to each other.

Even if Charles asked for permission to take her memories, it’s all too likely that she would refuse. It may be better to sever their ties quickly, with the touch that she wanted from him, and one sweet fragment of memory for her to hold onto, even if she will never recall where it came from.

When she gets out of the car, the light catches the red in her hair ( _I would say MCR1, you would say “auburn hair”… it’s a very groovy mutation_ ) and she lifts her hand in a wave. Charles raises his in return; it may look like a greeting, but perhaps she already knows that it’s another farewell.


End file.
